Dream of a Wolf
by MalevolentTorment
Summary: I dream of a life where I can live in peace. A place where I can escape the people who hunt me down. But that dream...that fools dream, was crushed by the men who killed my mentor. The diamond is the key to all my suffering. But the men and the creatures who want the diamonds, are powerful people that will kill any who stand in their way. And I'm the only one who can stop them.
1. Memory of a Wolf

**Hello, everyone! MalevolentTorment (miskey, for short) here, bringing you my second Balto fanfic. The description wasn't all that good, but I assure the the story will be much better. Now, for this one, something that you need to know is that wolves can change into humans. They call it putting on their 'disquise' (just so you don't get confused).**

**I would just like to thank kodiwolf321 and Jwolf98 for helping me out! Check out their fanfics, all of them are very well written and I feel awesome that you two are so willing to help! ****You guys are amazing, thanks for helping me out with the name Blake and all. Just thank you both! (And thanks kodi for giving me the idea about the...well, you know =P)****!**

**Please review and favorite, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah (you guys get it)**

**Rated T for language (no f-word) and maybe some suggestive themes.**

**I don't own anything from Balto, just my OC's. Now I will shut up and let you guys read, Enjoy!**

* * *

**I. Memory of a Wolf**

_"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible."_

This...I did...

**{{_}}**

A gunshot rose from the distance, piercing the silence of this bright, cloudless day. Its sound echoing into the wintry breeze. The snow on the branches of the trees seemed to shake in fear of the gun, like they were living, breathing. The trees cascaded across this frozen land, awaiting the day they will awake from their long, frozen slumber.

I glanced over to my right and saw the burning truck I had just crawled out of. This is what I get for helping him, only to get stabbed in the back. The truck lay on its side, smoke curling into the sky like a tree searching for sunlight. Two people were hanging out of the windshield...er, well what used to be people. Their bodies had been disfigured and their guts splattered all over the inside of the vehicle.

I laid on my side, broken. All hope lost. Nothing could mend my forgotten spirit. All of them...gone. Dead, laying in the ground, their rotting flesh being consumed. The thought of them, all of my family, my friends, brought a sickening feeling in my gut. The knot that would never go away. It made its way to my throat but I had to forced it down.

My eyes stung from the tears that seemed to never come. My breathing was labored and seemed to take more effort than it was worth. Something got caught in my throat but I forced it down, now was notrhe time to get emotional. There was a light snow fall, every second sending snowflakes to my face. My brown, shearling coat was flecked with snow, as was my blue jeans. My hair was black and pushed up in the front, just as it always was. Everyone told me my eyes were blue like the ocean, but I havent checked in so long. I am ashamed of what I have become...who I've hurt.

I growled. An animals noise that no human could make. Even though I tried...I couldn't contain it. The sensation was like a drug, a drug that I wanted, hell, that I needed. A second gunshot, this one closer. A yelp of pain escaped a dogs mouth sending the very hairs on my back up.

Humans, those filthy things deserve to die. All of them. They treat dogs and animals in general like their second. They could care less what happened to us, they probably want us all to roast on the stake!

But I knew they would never catch us, for we...we are the smart ones. We can change the way the world looks at us. But the humans, ha! Just the thought of them roasting one of us is a hilarious joke shared by my kind.

It was kind of funny, actually. Here I was, bleeding out, all hope gone. But before this, I was so determined. So determined to save them. _A great use to us..._

_A being of unimaginable potential_!

What a bunch of bullshit. All of it! Those people and those wolves working together for the greater good. Idiots...they will fall, just like my family. Because they were corrupt. Twisted into thinking what the world wanted them to think. But even though they were insane...they were my parents...my brothers and sisters. And I let them down.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry," I whispered. Then the forest went black.

**{{_Memories_}}**

A small bar in California was bustling with activity. There were five tables, each filled with laughing men. There was a counter overlooking the bar tender getting drinks for the awaiting people. I counted eleven bar stools at the counter, but only seven were being used.

I was sitting at the edge alone, three seats seperating me from a man talking to the bar tender. I had on blue jeans that resembled the deep blue of the ocean. His brown shoes matched the color of the wood from the bars counter. I had on a gray, long sleeved shirt that was pushed up to just below my elbows. There were only three buttons at the collar of my shirt where anyone could see my white fanged necklace.

One beer was already was laying on its side next to me. I was two thirds done with my second when a man came walking towards me. I tried to think he was going for the man sitting three seats away from me, but he just walked past him.

The mystery man took a seat next to me and swiveled in his chair. I could feeel his breathe on my arm. "Blake Ryder. Never thought I would see you drinking beer," the man said.

I turned and was shocked by who I saw, "Niju?"

"I guess the saying should be 'A wolf never forgets.'" Niju replied with a smile. Niju was a buff man, with muscles as big as his fists. He had on blue jeans and a black t-shirt with black sunglasses hanging from his collar. His brown boots matched his brown coat when he was in wolf form.

I stood up and embraced him for a few seconds then took my seat back and offered him the one next to me. "So, you're drinking...beer?" he asked, lowering himself into the stool.

I laughed, "Well, there is only so much to drink here in the city. But, enough of that, what's been happening with you?"

"Oh, you know, got hired for this job and I can't seem to find what I'm looking for-"

"And you need my help to figure out whatever it is your stuck on," I finished.

"Just as I remembered you, right to the point."

"And I do owe you that favor for pulling me out of that gunfire," I recalled.

"Well that too. Okay, well my boss wants to find something in Alaska called the Moon Diamonds. They are said to be the brightest and most expensive diamonds in all of the US, hell, the world!" Niju threw his arms in the air. "But, there is a bit of a problem. The only way to get these diamonds is...well...we don't know. It is hidden somewhere and we don't know where. And we don't have time to be digging around all of Alaska looking for some two foot long crystals."

"Two foot long? Damn..." I said.

"Exactly. The only thing we know is a clue that pints to a mansion in Russia. There is said to be the key to the diamonds, but the problem is the place we need to get into has one of the strictest security in Russia! And the only people, well, wolves who can get in are," he pointed to himself and me.

"Gotta tell you, not liking the...whatever this is. I mean, do the people you work for want more from these diamonds? I mean, what kind of name is 'Moon Diamonds' anyways? If they say it's the brightest light, then shouldn't they be called Sun Diamonds or something?" I asked.

"Um, I don't know. They really don't tell me much and I don't really ask," Niju said rubbing the back of his neck.

I sighed, "How are we going to get to Russia?"

"Here is your plane ticket for tomorrow. Your flight leaves at eleven sharp, don't be late. I'll meet you when you land," Niju said slapping a ticket on the counter.

"How did you know-"

"You were gonna say yes? Call it a hunch."

With that he got up from the bar stool and walked toward the door. He turned around and he lifted his hand giving me a thumbs up. He smiled, then put on his sunglasses. He pushed the door open and walked out like he had some important business to take care of.

**{{_Memories_}}**

The plane ride wasn't to bad, I just am not that good at heights. The aircraft I was on was significant in size compared to some of the bush planes I had seen earlier. This one had two rows and ten seats on each row, but none of which were being used. The plane was all metal and had one engine on each wing. The inside was decent, considering it was bleak and depressing. The walls were the same silver steal color as the outside and the seats were a dark brown color.

There were only two other people on the plane, sitting behind me. Each looking at each other every few minutes. They were both muscular, not as muscular as Niju or anything but a little bit bigger than myself. Their faces showed a look of seriousness. Each wore matching jeans and brown coat, but the thing that really got me were their mustaches. It was like a small handle bar mustache, and each looked to be combed to perfection. Their eyes were different colors, one green and the other had brown eye.

After about eleven hours of doing nothing but sitting in a dusty old seat and looking out the window, a cold sensation ran down my spine. I started to get up to go to the bathroom when I felt cold cylinder being pushed up against my head. I turned and found myself staring into the barrel of a sleek, black, semiautomatic pistol. The barrel of the gun shrunk in size. The front of the pistol was about half the circumference of the back part of the barrel. One of the men, with brown eyes, was holding the pistol while Green Eyes had a sick smile on his face.

Green Eyes laughed, "Well, well, Mr. Ryder. You have eluded us for a long time. But there is no where to run and you are outnumbered two to one."

"Who are you guys?" I asked becoming nervous.

"You don't remember? Now I'm hurt, Blake," Brown Eyes said.

"So wolf, you really don't remember us, huh?" Green Eyes asked.

I nodded. "Let's have a little refresher than: '_No vision and you perish; No Ideal, and you're lost; Your heart never ever cherish Some faith at any cost. Some hope, some dream to cling to, Some rainbow in the sky, Some melody to sig to, Some service that is high.'_"

My face went limp with shock, my limbs seemed to crumble beneath me. "No...God no..."

Green Eyes laughed, "So, you _do _remember us. You just needed a little refresher. Now that saying, wasn't that the last thing Nanook taught you? It was a good lesson, you probably wish you payed more attention to what he was saying before he took a bullet to the head. Your face was priceless! It looked like someone had shot you!" Green Eyes seemed to laugh even harder at that, "But then that white wolf came and gave us a bit of a run for our money. But we took care of her, wasn't easy, she took five of our men. Not a lot, but enough to keep us off your trail as you ran away. Only if we stayed a little longer, when you came back. Then we wouldn't be having this conversation. That's her tooth, ain't it?"

I was silent, the pain of what they were saying was more painful than any bullet could be. How did they find me? What were they going to do to me? What do they need from me? All the questions blocked my mind so I couldn't think clearly.

"Well, none of that matters now. All you need to know is that you will die knowing you couldn't avange your parents or her or her mate," Brown Eyes said. I saw his thumb pull back on the gun, sending a clicking sound shooting through my head. _It's now or never... _I thought to myself.

I threw my hand around the wrist of Brown Eyes and pushed upwards. Just in time to, he pulled the trigger sending a bullet through the metal of the plane. We both had a look of shock painted on out faces. He let two more bullets fly from the gun before he realized I was still standing. Brown Eyes brought his fist to my face with a jarring punch.

I fell back on the floor, sprawled out like a snow angel. My senses seemed to leave me for just a few seconds, but in those few seconds, Brown Eyes was leveling his gun at me again. The fog around my eyes seemed to clear and I found the strength to kick the gun out of Brown Eye's hand.

The gun slid to the front of the plane near the pilots quarters. I kicked Brown Eyes in the knee and then again in the face. Blood exploded out of his nose, staining the seat mext to him. Now it was his time to go sprawling on the floor. He was unconscious, his eyes rolling back in his head.

I heard another click. I turned around and saw Green Eyes holding a matching semi automatic pistol in his hands.

"You don't know how much I want to do this right now. But I'd rather see you fall to your death in a fiery plane crash," he said pulling out a backpack out from the seat next to him. I realized it was a parachute, "Have a nice flight, Blake."

He ran to the door on the lower left side of the plane and opened it the wind sending stray papers and leaves everywhere. I had to stop him, I knew if he got out of this plane all hope was lost.

I got up and ran towards Green Eyes, tackling him right before he was about to jump. He both went tumbling to the back of the plane where we laid next to each other.

Brown Eyes got his senses back before me and started to get up. I pushed my leg beside his and pulled back. He fell on his face with a loud thunk. I got up gathering my strength for the fight that was yet to begin.

He put his arm to the side and seemed to be latching onto something, I couldn't tell what it was. It looked like a circular handle that was built into the floor. Brown Eyes pulled his arm up and a small, rectangular doorway appeared on the floor.

He threw all his body weight into the doorway and he disappearenothing's he darkness. I stood there for a second before I realized he went into the storage area below the plane.

"Perfect..." I sighed. I lowered myself into the darkness in pursuit of the man that killed the people I loved.

**{{_Memories_}}**

It was a short fall but I landed on my two feet with a loud thud. The room was pitch black, I could barely see my hands before my face. I fumbled around on the wall next to me trying to feel for a light switch. I felt something hard and metallic in the shape of a handle, I pulled it and a pulsating red light illuminated the storage area. It wasn't much but it was enough, even as a wolf it was hard to fight in that darkness.

I looked around greeting a glimpse of my surroundings. There were four or five wood crates filled with God knows what. Some luggage was strewn about the floor, sliding every time the plane turned.

Cautiously, I walked over to one of the crates. They were big, maybe six foot give or take an inch or so. Easy for someone to hide behind. I looked around the crate but there was no one. I looked around the second. Nothing. The third and the fourth, still nothing. _How is that possible?_ I asked myself.

I turned around when a metal bar came crashing into the side of my face. I flew down and laid there for a few moments. I started to sit up but was brought back down by a huge headache. I grabbed my aching face in pain and looked around me. That damn demon cocked around me, but how could I no have heard him?

My eyes could only see a fine mist. But then I saw something moving towards me. My eyes started to clear and then I noticed it was Green Eyes. He picked me up by my collar and threw me against the plane's wall.

I tried to bring my arm to his neck but he simply landed a quick blow to my face. He looked to his left and smiled. I followed his gaze and saw a red handle.

He wrapped his hand around the switch and pulled down. Sirens went off as light started to pour in. I tried to find where the light was coming from but it wasn't on the ceiling or the floors or the walls. But then I saw the place where the light originated from and my worst fears were realized. The back of the planes huge storage door was opening in front of me.

He was going to throw me out of the plane.

I started to struggle against his powerful grip. I kicked punched and bit but everything seemed to make him even angrier. Green Eyes walked towards the opening storage door, an evil grin spreading on his face.

I thought all was lost. But an idea popped into my head. _If I could only get a clean shot.._.

I waited for Green Eyes's stride to get long enough so I could land my crushing blow. Finally, after what seemed like minutes, he got close enough to the opened door and his legs far enough apart. I launched my leg up in the air towards the desired location.

I made my mark and he crumbled to the ground in front of me, holding his crotch. I landed on the floor next to him gasping for air. I looked up, we were almost at the edge of the open air. I got on my hands and knees when I felt a great pain go through my gut. I flew to the side, as Brown Eyes kicked me. I lost my breath, tears subconsciously watering my eyes.

I was so close to the edge, I could hear the wind whipping past me like a train from one of the railroads. I heard Brown Eyes growl behind me, "That was a mistake, Ryder!"

He charged towards me, which I gracefully dodged. He was filled with rage that he couldn't reason much. He turned around and charged again. This time, he put his arm out so I landed in his grip again.

He put his two hand around my neck and squeezed. I gagged and flailed my arms around in the air to try and break his grip. I threw a powerful punch to his throat, hitting it dead center. He instinctively dropped me and I fell to the ground on my side. Before I could get back up the plane shook. My body fell back down onto the ground in front of Brown Eyes.

Smoke started to pour from the left wing and I could see the red and orange of flames. Brown Eyes rubbed his neck as he walked over to the edge of the storage door. "I feel bad this is where we have to end our little visit, you damnable beast," he said.

Green Eyes jumped off the plane, letting the wind take him. I watched him falling through the air, making small circles as he turned. If I went back up to the cockpit, it'd be suicide. The other wing could go or the plane could crash faster than I could have expected.

The only option was...

_Son of a bitch... _I thought to myself.

I rolled over the edge of the storage door and started to fall...without a parachute.

**{{_Memories_}}**

The wind slapped at my face like an angry ex-girlfriend. I spread out my arms and legs to steady the fall and slow my decent. I searched for Brown Eyes but he seemed to have disappeared in the sky. My eyes nervously darted back and forth searching for the murderer. Finally I saw him below me. He had been hidden by some clouds.

I pushed my arms and les together close to my body and shot down towards Brown Eyes. He was a five seconds away from being caught off guard by my attack. _This is such a bad idea..._

I finally made contact with my target. I wrapped my arms around his chest..he was my only life line. We were sent spinning out of control spiraling closer and closer to the awaiting ground.

I thought I heard him curse but I couldn't tell, the wind was too loud. I did, however, feel his arm move around in his coat pocket for something. I looked down and saw he had a switchblade already drawn and ready to strike.

Green Eyes slashed the knife at my gut but I let go just in the knick of time. There was no way I could get that parachute with that knife. I had no time to think so I came in again. He threw the knife to the side, which I was hoping for. I grabbed his arm and twisted his wrist so the knife point was facing his head.

With all my strength, I kicked him in the crotch and threw the knife deep into his skull. Blood flew in the air, following us like a dog to a bone. He went limp in my arms but there was no time to revel in my victory.

I struggled to undo the strap to the chute, falling hundreds of feet with a dead body as your only hope for survival isn't so good on the nerves. After what felt like minutes of fumbling around with the parachute, I finally got it off. I gabbed the knife out of his head and shoved it into my pocket.

I looked down and the Let out a relived breathe. I wasn't as close to Earth as I thought. But there was still no time. I threw the parachute over my shoulders and tucked my arms and dove. I was hoping to get just a little closer to the earth so I wouldn't be in the air too long.

I pulled the cord sending the fabric up in the air, stopping my fall. It was like a sweet relief. The ground seemed so close I could almost smell the aroma of the flowers. It seemed almost peaceful, up here in the clouds looking out into the world. The trees were so big, the towered over everything like kings over their subjects.

But that peacefulness ended when I saw my parachute come crashing before my face. Brown Eyes' lifeless body had collided with my chute and was pulling both of us to the ground.

_"_Shit!" I yelled as we went tumbling down towards the awaiting soil.


	2. What a Fox

**Chapter II: What a Fox**

**{{_Memories_}}**

"C'mon, you have got to be kidding me!" I yelled as Green Eyes and I dropped towards the ground. The wind was a swirling mass of chaos, my shirt seemed to have a mind of its own. My fingers were trying to grasp at an invisible ledge, each time I felt nothing but air, the knot in my stomach rose to my throat. The parachute was now covering my vision I could only see below me and even that was a feet in itself. My head would start to spin every time I saw the ground get closer.

But I had to know how close I was to dropping to my death, to get those last words in...maybe if I-

Something caught the parachute and for a second my vision cleared. All I saw was flashes of greens and browns. I heard wood snapping and leaves rattling like someone breaking every bone in your body. Suddenly, as if by a miracle, the fall stopped. My head whipped down and back up like a man trying to swing at the mosquitos surrounding him. My shoulders burned and felt like they had been pulled out of their socket.

I had to gather my surroundings, but every time I looked around my head would start to spin again. It finally occurred to me, after about ten pounding headaches, that I had landed in a large tree. It looked like some of the Christmas trees I had seen in the windows of stores in California, but at least seven times the size. I was afraid to look down out of fear of another fall. But I had to. The ground seemed so far down, and with my parachute caught in the branches, I couldn't glide down. _You have got to be shiting me, _I thought to myself.

But first things first, I had to get the parachute off. With it stuck in the branches above, I was as good as dead. If I stayed up in the tree I would either starve to death or meet the locals, and judging by my entrance, they would not be too happy to see me. I started to unhook the latch on the parachute that was surrounding my waist. It took time, a lot of time. I had to be careful that when I got it unhooked, I wouldn't go tumbling down.

After about four minutes or so, I managed to get the latch of my waist. Now the only thing holding me were the straps covering my hurt shoulders. There was a branch right below me. _If I could only land perfectly, maybe, just maybe...I could catch myself._

As the idea was forming in my head to drop down and try to hang on to a branch for my life, it was looking worse and worse. But it was my only option out. I couldn't just dangle here forever. I sighed.

"Alright...one...two...three!" I yelled as I dropped from my perch.

The fall seemed to go on for minutes, even though it only was about two seconds. I grabbed the branch just as my head dipped below it. My shoulders were now burning with more fire than ever before. My teeth were grinding against one another as the pain shot to every inch of my body.

All the pain went away when I heard a familiar crunch sound. The branch I was now hanging onto seemed to dip lower and lower every second. The crunching sound got louder as well. Finally realizing what was happening my eyes went wide with fear.

"No...no, no, no, no, no, no...!"

The branch snapped completely off from the trunk, sending me spinning head first to the ground. Branches and lose twigs cut me all over my body, the blood seemed to attract to my nose like a moth to a flame. I turned my head to see how much longer I had to fall before I was flat as a pancake. The only thing I could see was a huge branch in my path.

I hit it with such force my body switched positions so now I was falling feet first. But it didn't matter that much because I was already unconscious.

**{{_Memories_}}**

I woke up staring at the now orange sky. I tried to bring my arm up to wipe some dirt off of my face, but a tinge of pain kept it lying at my side. My right shoulder was hit so bad the impact caused my arm to be drenched in blood. I tried to sit up but my aching bones brought me back down. My head was the worst part of this whole situation. It was spinning out of control, sending white and red flashed dancing in my eyes.

Judging by the sky color it was either dawn or dusk, but in my opinion it looked more of a dusk. The sky was too dark and the colors seemed to blend in together to form abstract works of art.

Finally, after about seven minutes of laying down and getting my wits about me, I started to get up. The pain coming up wasn't as bad as before but it was still bad. My thoughts seemed to travel all over the world and back again. New headaches filled my already empty mind.

I groaned in protest, placing my hand on top of my head. When I brought my hand back down I felt a leathery material. I looked down and saw Green Eye's body. Or what Green Eyes used to be.

His head had been broken open more ways then one, I could barely recognize his face through all the blood. His eyes popped out of his head, literally. His teeth lay scattered on the forest floor. But with this gruesome picture, an idea came to mind.

I reached into his pockets and finally found what I was looking for. I pulled out a slender, black metal knife.

"Well, at least one thing is going my way today," I said to myself.

I unsteadily got up from the soil, staggering as I got to my feet. I had to balance myself on the tree that was looming over me. Another thought occured to me.

_Where the hell am I?_ I asked myself.

The trees all looked like those big Christmas trees I had just fallen from, although there were some even higher than the rest. They seemed to looked down on me and gloat. If they could talk, they would probably be mocking how small I was compared to them. The ground below was covered in leaves, fall seemed to be right around the corner. Brown, reds, orange, you name the color and it was somewhere in this forest.

All the beautiful scenery seemed to change when I heard a growl from a bush. I turned towards the noise my newly acquired gun in my hand. I held the pistol up and faced the noise. It only seemed to get louder. Something stalked out of the bushes.

It was mostly orange except for some white on its face and it's stomach. The beast had sickly stripes painted on its fur. The eyes of the beast were a proud golden yellow, but they were dead serious. The fangs seemed to be longer than my hand and looked twice as deadly.

It crept out of the bushes, staying low. "What are _you _doing in my territory?" the beast asked. Its voice was low and scratchy.

"Oh, this is your territory? I'm sorry I jut fell a couple hundred feet from the sky and I was-"

"I know where you came from, but you didn't answer my question...why are you here?" the beast asked.

"I'm supposed to meet a friend here. A wolf by the name of Niju."

"Hmm, I thought you were a wolf yourself. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but you are a wolf. Right?"

"Yes, I am. Very much so," I replied.

"And you wear a wolf's tooth around your neck, am I correct?" he asked.

"Yes," I said a little skeptical.

His eyes seems to do summersaults. "So you have come! Ah, he said you would come but I was very skeptical!" the orange animal cleared its throat. "Where are my manners...I am Ajax, the strongest Amur Tiger in all the land."

"Blake Ryder," I said.

"Well, Blake Ryder, I will take you to your friend. He said to follow the wreckage. At first I had no idea what he was talking about, but he said 'Dont worry, there will be wreckage.' I see now he really knows you quite well " Ajax said. "Follow me."

Ajax turned around and faced the opposite direction, gesturing me to follow. I was uncertain at first, but it if got me out of this God forsaken jungle, I'd follow anyone. So I limped after Ajax, expecting the worst.

**{{_Memories_}}**

The trek out of the forest went smoothly, except for me almost falling down a huge hole in the earth. Ajax said that they were sinkholes and they have been showing up as of late. He also said no one knows how far down the drop is, but when an animal fell in, their screams went on forever. I kept a mental note of that and walked more carefully over the soft leaves.

Occasional the sound of birds could be heard in the distance, chirping happy song that seemed to relax me. The trees above made it hard for sunlight to reach us, but sometimes a small sliver of golden light bathed me, warming my aching bones. After an hour I could walk...well, better than I had starting off. My limp was going away and I could finally stretch out my arms to full length. Sometimes being a wolf had its benefits, healing faster than the average human, superior strength, all helpful in the heat of battle. Which I was going to be doing a lot of, or so I figured.

But the weirdest part of the walk out of the woods, was Ajax. He told me of the demons that haunt the nearby woods and how they stalk you to the ends of the earth. I thought he had just swallowed a bad deer or something, but he sound convinced.

"Demons? That sounds a little out there, Ajax," I had said.

Ajax stopped and looked up, "You are messing with the wrong powers, Blake Ryder. They watch us even now." I looked around for the 'demons' but couldn't find anything, save for a few birds flying low for field mice. "Ah, you are intrigued? You want to see the demons, but no normal person can see a demon. Not even an ordinary wolf can see them."

"Well, I'm not normal. And I'll be damned if there are any demons hiding out in this forest," I said.

"You mock what you do not know," Ajax simply replied as he picked up his pace.

About an hour later we finally made it out into a clearing on top of a hill. There was a huge mansion stationed in the middle of towering green trees. The house was an old structure that I guessed was from the 1800's. What was once cream walls, were a tainted brown from the sun and the vines trailing up it's side. There were only two sets of windows, on the first and second floor though the manison was at least three. The masion was surrounding a massive courtyard with a fountain and a few statues and broken walls. The back part of the building was bigger than the rest of the house by at least twice the width of the right and left walls. The roof was a stunning red brick color that seemed to be impervious to age.

"We are here," Ajax said. "Hmm, he said he would-"

"Blake! What a surprise! How you been?" Niju said walking out of the foliage which was behind them.

"Been better, there was the whole business with the two people trying to kill me and falling our of a plane. Almost dying. Guess they didn't like that I was coming here."

"Who were these people?" Niju asked, putting his hand into his coat pocket. He took out a black pistol with a silencer and handed it to me.

"Thanks, mate. I don't know. They had heavy accents, mustaches, guns, muscle-"

"Any markings?" Niju interupted.

"Not that I saw," I replied.

But then I sensed something within Niju. It wasn't grief or worry or sadness at my almost tragic loss. It only seemed to be relieved at the fact that I couldn't identify the men. But I pushed the thought away, Niju would never do anything like that. I mean, he is a total asshole but he is a friend. One of few.

"Well, at least your okay. You think you're strong enough to break in to the mansion?" Niju asked.

My stomach churned again, "Um...excuse me? I don't think I heard you right. _I _am going to be breaking into the mansion? What are you going to be doing? Getting a tan?"

He laughed, "No, _I_ am going to be the one getting _you_ out of there. Those people are crazy dangerous and I wouldn't want to put myself in that hell hole."

"Gee, good to know I'm liked," I sighed.

Niju slapped his hand on my back, "Oh, you know it's nothing personal. I mean, you do seem like a lone wolf."

"Really? That line is as old your sense of humor," I said jokingly.

"There's the Blake I know. Now c'mon, you have a mansion to break in to."

**{{_Memories_}}**

Niju sent Ajax on his way back into the 'possessed' forest. But before he left he told me to watch out for the fox. "The fox?" I asked, confused.

"Yes the fox, dear white wolf. There aren't many white wolves out there, and the ones that are alive, are very special. They like that. That is what they like. Ah, but you are a very very very special white wolf. They like you even more. Even more than the rest," Ajax was muttering.

"I think that's enough, Ajax. You can go, you have been more than helpful," Niju said.

"Yes, it is my time to go. Leave the white wolf for he attracts them," Ajax said as he skulked back into the forest.

"Um, okay. That was...odd," I said.

"Odd? The tiger's a crazy nut case. But enough of him, it's getting late. I'd say by the time you get down there it'll be pitch black," Niju said, pointing up at the darkening sky.

"Alright, I'll get going. How are you going to get me out?" I asked.

"Well, that all relies on you. You are going to have to send out a signal of some sort. But, that will probably attract attention so I am going to need you to hold them off for a bit. Got it?" Niju asked.

"That sounds like...the stupidest plan I have ever heard of! How long did that take you? Five minutes?!" I exclaimed.

"Just like your brilliant idea to get us off the Rockies?" Niju asked.

"Will you let it go. It didn't hurt that bad," I replied.

"You aren't the one who got a bullet in the leg!" Niju exclaimed.

"It healed."

"Alright, let's not dwell on the past. That's the plan, okay? Now you're looking for a map. It should look like a huge piece of paper. Am I going to fast for you, Blake?" Niju asked.

I gave a mock laugh, "Any symbols I should be looking out for?"

"Yes, there should be four crystals crossing each other to look like a trapezoid at the bottom right corner of the map," Niju said.

"Alright, see you when the fireworks start," i said as i made my way down th ehill towards the mansion.

**{{_Memories_}}**

I made it to the bottom of the hill as the sun set on the horizon. On my way down I saw a lot of cars coming to and from the mansion. the passengers were dressed in elegnat gowns and suits. The cresent moon lit the night like a small nigthlight. The mansion was illuminated inside and there seemed to be laughter and loud human voices.

I made it to the right wall of the mansion and look towards the front entrance. There seemed to be only two guards standing at the bottom of the big stairs leading up to the house. Each with a serious look on their face and pistol tucked in the back of their pants.

_Guess, I can't go in like this. Gotta get some new clothes, but where...ha. That's perfect._

A man was walking crookedly up a trail alone with a bottle of whiskey in his hands. He was dressed for the party and by the looks of it, his girl left him.

I quickly walked up to the man and placed my hand on his shoulder, "Hey man you got a sec?"

"Who the bloody hell are you?" the man asked.

"Me? Just a white wolf who can change into a human on command," I said.

The man laughed loudly, "I like you. You're funny."

"Well, I like you to, in fact, I like you so much that I want to show me," I pointed toward sthe bushes.

"Okay, show me," the man said.

"Well, i cant do it now, people might see. It's a secret," I said putting my left hand to my mouth.

"Ooh, I like secrets. I like secrets a lot," the man said stepping into the bushes.

"Of course you do," I said as I stepped in behind him. I tapped him on the shoulder so he would face me. He turned with a drunken frown and looked me up and down. His eyes stopped at my mid section. "Oh, brother," I said as I punched him in the face. "Drunks...never on one subject for long."

He let out a groan and laid on his side unconcious. "Sorry, mate." I said as I stripped off his suit and put it on myself. I pumped my collar and walked out of the bushes.

"Let's crash a party," I said as I walked down the path to the mansion. I was stopped by the two gurad who looked me up and down. They looked at each other and nodded. "Thanks, mates."

I walked through the gigantic doors of the house towards the dance floor where all the people were laughing and drinking. The hall was an amazing array of portraits and lights. The ceiling was a gigantic mural that had angels and heavenly figures painted everywhere. There were about eight doors on each side of the floor and at the end of the floor, there was a staircase. It went straight and then curved to the right and the left, only reaching the second floor.

_If the map had to be anywhere it would probably be on the second or third floor_, I concluded. _But how am I going to get up there without being noticed?_

There were two guards at each staircase entrance, each, or so I guessed, had a pistol wedged in the back of their pants. The doors were fewer upstairs only totaling in four on each side of the big room. It was odd that there were less upstairs, maybe the doors led to a hallway of some sort and was ment to confuse the prey.

But I couldn't really focus on that right then and there because a hand grabbed my arm. I turned and looked at the hand. It small and compacted with red nail polish. It's grip wasn't forceful but I don't think the girl would let me go if I tried.

"Don't worry little wolf, I'm here to help," the girl whipered in my ear.

I grabbed the girls hand and quickly threw her onto my chest so I could get a look at her. She was amazing. Her eyes were as green as emeralds and her mouth and nose were very cute and small. Her hair was a lushes brown that cascaded onto her shoulders and stopped right at the basse of the neck. The women's dress was a stunning red that made it down al the way to her black heels. But the thing that really got me, was her chest. It was just...wow.

I was about to say something when the words got caught in my throat and I couldn't speak. But the girl put her index finger to my mouth in a **"Shh"**ing gesture. My eyes grew wide just from that little touch, and my heart seemed to jump up and down in my chest. The girl must have seen this for she grew a teasing smile. Her teeth shown pure white against her lightly tanned skin.

"Don't be afraid little wolf. I won't hurt you. I'm just a little ole fox, that's all," the girl said.

"How...how do you know I'm a wolf?" I managed.

"Oh, I had a feeling," she said rubbing her hands down my chest and to my stomach. I shivered at the gesture, I had never felt such a thing like this before. "What's your name, wolf? i do so hate to call people by what they are."

"Blake...Blake Ryder," I said as she drew even closer than before.

"That's a cute name. I'm going to call you Blake though. Never was one for last names. Mine is Tamamo Mae. Though my friends call me Mae," the girl said. "So I see you want to get your hands on that map. Well, lucky for you I know exactly where it is."

"How-"

"Did I know what you were looking for? Call it a gift. Here, let's go see if we can get it for you, i'd like to tag along if you don't mind?" she asked.

"Sure. Yeah, sure," I said.

"Alright, c'mon Blake, I can get you past the guards. Then we'll see if you can do your end of the bargain," Mae said leading him towards the stairs.

"My end?" I asked.

"You'll see," she simply said as she started to climb the steps. She took a right and started to climb the rest of the way to the second floor. I was a few steps behind her enjoying the view when the gurads came up to her.

"I'm sorry ma'am, this is a restricted area," the one on the left said.

"Oh, now that's too bad. I really wanted a place to play," she said grabbing the man's mid section and breathing into his face. The guard seemed to freeze and become a living statue, same as the right guard when mae did the same thing to him. "Blake, two doors down there is a hallway. Take that make a left and then keep going and make a right. that should take you to the map. I'll stay here and take care of these big guys."

"Thanks, Mae," I said pushing past her. "I owe you one."

"You're right about that," she called after me.

I walked past the first door and made it to the second. I pushed it open with ease and, just like she said, there was a hallway. Quickly, I stepped into the hall and took my first left. I had to kick the door open but I almost tripped walking in. There was a dish sitting on the floor with grease and oil coating it. I caught myself on a couple of bars placed on one of the walls. I took a few seconds to catch my breathe when something grabbed my throat. It squeezed and squeezed as I let small puffs of air out of my lungs.

"I told you the next time you came back, I'd...who the hell are you?" a gruff voice said.

"Blake...Blake... Blake Ryder," I managed through my grinding teeth.

"Hey, you're a wolf. What are you doing back here? Oh, sorry," the gruff voice said as he let me go. I fell back onto the ground and started to gasp for air. "You have to forgive me. I have been trapped in here for a week. So, what are you doing here?"

I got up onto my feet unsteadily and look at the figure that had almost choked me to death. It was a middle aged gray wolf. In his human form, he had sleak silvery hair and a blue button down shirt. He had brown dress pants and brown dress shoes.

"The better question is, what are _you _doing back here?" I asked.

"I got captured doing the same thing you're doing. Sneaking around this God forsaken place. You must be looking for the map, right?" the wolf asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?" I asked.

"Please, like I'm going to miss out on treasure? Ha, just the thought. Oh, bye the way, I'm Sam," the wolf offered his hand.

I took his hand, fearful of another attack. "So, can I help you get out of there?"

"Yes, you can and I can help you find the map. You know we could make a good team," Sam said smiling.

"Um, okay. Alright let's see if I can get this off of you," I said studying the lock.

"Trust me kid, I tried pulling it off. It won't budge. Maybe if you had-"

I pulled out the pistol Niju gave me, "A gun?"

"Good thinking kid. I hope your aim is as good as your reasoning," Sam said as he backed away into the corner of the cell.

"I hope so," I lifted my gun and pointed it at the lock. I let out a small sigh as pulled the trigger. The gun let out what sounded like a puff of air and the lock popped out of its place. I let out a small laugh and opened the cell door.

Sam walked out and have me a pat on the shoulder, "Nice going kid. Now let's go see about that map. You wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?"

"Yeah, a friend told me," I said.

"Let's go make ourselves rich. I told you we would-"

"Wait. How do I know I can even trust you?" I asked.

"If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead by now. I could have just gone in the direction I was headin when I got here and leave you here on the floor, lifeless. But I didn't," Sam said.

His heart beat remained regular, his eyes didn't falter, and he didn't perspire. It looked like he was telling the truth. "Alright, it's the door on the right."

We both made our way down a narrow hallway, Sam in front of me. There were portraits of old English people possing with scrappy looking dogs. The wallpaper had elegant patterns with flowers and other symbols. There was a window at the end of the hallway that shone the moonlight into half of the hall.

Finally, Sam stopped at a door. It was a big double door and had a symbol at the top that looked like a plane propeller. The knob was an elegant gold with an old flowery design chizeled onto it.

"This looks about right," Sam said. He tried the knob but it just wouldn't turn the whole way. "And that sounds about right. Blake, you mind shooting off the lock?"

"Yeah, stand back," I said as I pulled the pistol and shot the knob. I grabbed the knob and turned it. It clicked and I pushed the door open. The office to who ever owned this mansion must be one scholar. The whole room had book shelves on every wall and books covering the whole space. There was a big desk at the end of the room and some sitting chairs and a table. A huge chandelier dangled from the ceiling with crystals hanging from the gold. Behind the desk was a head of a wolf.

"Quite the get up. This guy is one book worm. How are we going to find a little map in all this mess?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. But lets start looking."

We both went to opposite sides of the room, turning up books and looking through a lot of them to find at least a clue or two. I quickly abandoned my post at the right side of the room and walked over to the desk.

There were skulls, creatures in bottles, and, of course, books strewn on the massive desk. But the only thing that was perfectly centered and not thrown carelessly, was a small blue leather notebook.

I picked it up and started to shuffle through the pages. But my breathe caught when I saw a page labeled "Kitsune" and the words "Tama". But the rest had been scribbled out. It showed a picture of a nine tailed fox destroying a town.

I heard a crash behind me. I dropped the book back on the desk and looked behind me. Sam was lying on the ground. "Sam? Sam, are you okay?" I asked.

No answer.

"Sam?" I tried again.

No answer.

"Sa-" I felt a crushing blow to the side of my head. Then I lay on the floor, unconscious.

*****Sorry it took me so long to update this. Been busy with other stories and worst of all...school. But I hope you guys like it. I kinda had to write fast for this chalter, so I really hope that didn't show. And if it did, I apologize. Not as action packed as I thought it was going to be, but you know, lots of mystery.**

**Also, a quick little thing you should know: I am going to be explaining the mythology as folklore surrounding this story at the end of the fic. I am doing this because there might be spoilers and I couldn't do that to you guys.**

**Thanks for the reviews! Hope this was a good chapter!**


	3. Torturing Wolves

**Chapter III: Torturing Wolves**

I opened my crusty eyes to the bright sun. My lips were dry and cracking, my lungs were straining to get air to my nose and mouth. My blodd stained shirt stuck to my body and it was too painful to just rip off.

I put my hands under my body and pushed up onto my knees, I stayed like this looking out onto the Alaskan land. By the looks of it, I was on some sort of hill, or cliff, close to the ground. I heard people shouting and thought I could see figures at the edge of the horizon. But I couldn't really trust my eyes, or any sense of mine anymore. The only thing that really stuck out was the air getting thicker and thicker. An odor drove into my nose like a car into a drive way. It smelled familiar to me, I remember that smell fom something. Something recent...but the only thing that could produce a smell like that would be a...

"Truck..." the word trailed off. I looked towards the overturned vehicle and there was the puddle of gasoline. And near it, a wall of flames.

"Oh, no," I said as I tried to get up.

I let out a scream as pain shot through my abdomen and I fell back towards the ground. I quickly got up to my knees again and then strenuously tried to get onto my feet. The effort was great and for the little energy I had, I didn't think I would be able to get away from the truck in time. But, I was surprised what a little adreniline could do. I barely caught myself as I got to my feet, I dared a glance behind me and saw the flames were almost at the gasoline. I'd say I had five seconds.

I turned and hobbled as fast as I could for what I thought was the right direction. But I didn't have enough time. The gasoline ignited and I felt the truck go up in a fiery explosion of metal and liquid. The trees next to the blast cascaded the cliff with splinters, it was almost like a brown firework. Flames rose into the sky, poisoning the clear blue day with it's black smoke.

The shock wave hit me with such force my feet left the ground and I was flying over the snow. But, not for long. The next moment, I was flying over nothing. The cliff ended just a few feet in front of me and now I was falling.

**{{_Memories_}}**

I woke to a pounding headache, the veins on my head seemed to grow like a pop-up book. My hands and my legs were tied to wooden chair with leather straps. The chair itself seemed sturdy and didn't want to fall apart when I rocked back and forth. I felt some movement behind me but I couldn't turn my head to get a look. But what I did see was a big gray room with torture devices strewn about the tables. There had to be at least five of these big black tables around the room, each with a different tool for interrogation. There were no windows that I could see, only a door to the right of me and a light hanging from the brick ceiling.

I heard someone groan behind me and I tried to look back only to see a small tuft of silver hair.

"Sam...that you?" I asked groggily.

I heard air being pushed out of someone's lungs, "Yeah, kid. Are you okay?"

"Fine. Just my head...what happened?" I asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Sam said.

"All I remember is seeing you on the ground and the next second, I was out," I said trying to recall anything else. "Since, you've been here awhile, do you know where we are?"

"No, never seen this room. Looks like a dungeon used in the dragon and knight days. If you ask me," Sam said.

"He didn't," a raspy voice said from the door. Sam and I turned and found a man in a black suit. He was bald with a scar that ran down his left eye. Two men stood behind him, the guards from the other side of the stairs. "Ah, Mr. Ryder, glad to have finally met you."

"The feeling isn't mutual," I said.

"Oh, calm down. If you're a good boy, I'll give you a treat," the man said.

I laughed at his comment, "Maybe I can get a better room while you're at it. I mean look at this place, there's no loft space, no beer, no-"

The man in the suit came over and gave me a punch to the face. "That's enough, Mr. Ryder. Now I hope you will comply with me for the next few hours," he said.

"Few hours? I' am sorry, i really am, but I have a party that I'm late for," I said.

The man gave me another good punch to the face, "A smart ass, huh? I like guys like you."

"Oh, really, that means so much to me," I said as I received another punch to the face.

"Hey, stop!" Sam exclaimed.

The man in the suit grew a smile on his face and started to laugh. He walked over to one of the tables near the door and picked up a round-tipped metal stick with a handle. A cord was attached to the bootom of the device connected to a small box. "Do you gentlemen...wolves, know what this is?" the man asked.

"Sex toy?" I asked.

The man laughed as he brought the stick close to my face. "It's called a picana, provides a little shock that won't hurt you but...well, tell me this..." the man brought the stick to my chest and pushed a button on the handle. My whole body filled with pain, every inch, every corner. i couldn't contain the cream that escaped my lips. "Does it hurt?"

He brought the picana away from me as I sat in the metal chair in pain. "What about you? Do you think it hurts?" The man brought the picana down onto Sam's chest as he let out a joyous laughter. Sam screamed and I could feel the chair shaking as he trind to break free of the same pain that I felt.

"Stop...just...stop. he doen't...doesn't know anything," I said through pained breathes.

"Oh, he doesn't? Then why did I find him with you in my office?" he asked.

"I brought him along to keep a look out. He doesn't know why I was here or what I was doing," I tried to defend Sam.

"Blake, don't. Just tell him the truth and maybe he will just lock us up, instead of kill us," Sam said.

"You should really listen to your friend Mr. Ryder. He is a smar one, he's already been in this room once. For probably the exact same reaon you are here. Now, why don't we just run through what happened, shall we?" the man asked.

"You know my name, but what's yours?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"Mine? Oh, dear boy you will learn that soon enough. Hmm, don't really feel like answering question, huh? I'll give you some time to think of an answer, but if you lie to me, I'll kill your little gray friend sitting next to you." And with that he put the torture device back on the table and walked out of the room with the two guards.

"Sam, you know that guy?" I asked.

"No, but I met him before he threw me in that cell. His name is Vaughn, he owns this mansion and that map you and I were looking for. Not a good guy to get caught stealing from," Sam commented.

"Yeah, I can tell. So, do you know if we can get out of here or not?" I questioned.

"I don't know, kid. When I was in here last he normally was gone for a day or so and then he came back when I was starving and thirsty. He ate right in front of me to get me talking and...I did. Then I got thrown in the cell."

"So, we have a day to figure out a way to get out of here," I said as I tried the leather straps.

"Kid, weren't you listening to me. You can't get out of here. Don't you think i would have tried that when I was here last?" he asked rhetorically.

I sighed, "Yeah I guess so."

**{{_Memories_}}**

We waited God-knows how long before the door opened. It was one of the guards, he brought a plate of food and threw it onto the ground before us. The man let out a small chuckle, "The master says the party is almost over and then he will be coming up for you two. Oh, and he said-"

The wall behind me exploded with a violent bomb. The guard went flying as a big piece of rubble knocked him in the head. Shrapnel flew in every direction, little pieces of rock hit me in the back of the head. I felt something on my wrist and when I looked down, there was a dagger sticking out of the leather. It had cut it into two clean pieces. My left arm was free, and then my right, and then my legs. Another round of dagger throws shot off Sam's restraints as well. We both looked out at the dark sky in confusion. Then I remembered Niju said he was going to get us out, but I didn't know he was so good with knives.

_I'll have to ask him about that later, _I thought to myself.

"Blake, take this," Sam said as he threw a black pistol at me. I caught and looked at him in amazement, then I saw he grabbed one for himself off of the guards body. "It's our lucky day."

"Yeah, but we aren't out of the woods yet. I have to go get that map and the journal," I said as I stepped over the guards body.

"Are you kidding me? You know the guy was planning on keeping you locked up for the rest of your life, why would you risk going back and getting caught again?" Sam asked.

"I have to get that map, I didn't just come here just to get captured then leave. I'm getting the map for a friend and that's that. Besides, Vaughn is probably downstairs with all the people. He would never dream of being a bad host," I said turning around to face Sam.

Sam sighed, "If only your brain was as big as your pride. Fine, let me come with you. I know the way to the office from here, okay team mate?" Sam said with a smile.

I stuck out my hand and chuckled, "Team mate."

He shook my hand then ran past me, "C'mon, kid, lets get that map of yours and then get the hell out of here!"

I ran after him but he abruptly stopped at a brown wooden door. It looked like it went out into the hall. "Kid, we are going outside where the guards are likely to be stationed. Stay sharp and shoot first."

Sam threw the door open and lifted his gun in the air, shooting at the guards. I walked out with my gun held high but saw no one, except for some guards on the floor who had eaten bullets. I looked for Sam and saw him to the left kicking another door down. "Kid, let's go! We got trouble!" Sam yelled pointing at the other side of the stairway.

There were about five men in black suits, their pistols all trained on me. I froze, I couldn't run or I would get about ten bullets in lodged in every part of my body.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS STARING AT?! SHOOT HIM!' Vaughn was screaming from the dance floor.

That's when I got an idea, a stupid one for sure, but maybe it would buy me enough time to get out of here. I pointed my gun at Vaughn and yelled, "I'LL SHOOT HIM! I SWEAR I WILL. JUST TRY ME!"

The guards looked at each other with confusion, should they kill the wolf and their boss? Or let the wolf go? As they were deciding on which option would be the best solution, I was scanning the room below for an option that wouldn't involve me getting shot. And then I saw it. Barrels of alcohol that had been thrown to the ground by the scared people and was now being spilled out onto the floor. It wasn't a great idea, but then again...I never have great ideas.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! HE'S BLUFFNG! C'MON SHOOT HIM!" Vaughn was yelling.

I brought my gun down and leveled it to the ground. I shot off to bullets each at their respective mark. The guards - and Vaughn - were completely surprised by my guns outburst that they all got on their knees and ducked their heads down. The alcohol ignited by the sparks sent by the bullet hitting the ground. The flames weren't magnificent or anything but they were enough to scare everyone. Vaughn jumped to the side and brought his arms and legs close to his body. The guards were just staring at the fire that was now spreading across the drapes and wood that surrounded the barrels.

I took the chance and ran for the door that Sam went through, my heart pounding with excitement and fear. I made it to the wooden opening when the bullets started to fly past my face. I opened the door and jumped inside, quickly shutting the door with a powerful kick. I laid on the ground for a few seconds catching my breath and nervously chuckling to myself.

Sam ran out with a gun pointed towards my head. I shot my hands in the air telling him to not shoot. "Sorry, kid. Thought you were one of the guards...so, what are you doing on the ground?" Sam asked with a smile.

"Um, well the mansion might burn down, I almost got shot, and Vaughn is pissed," I said as Sam helped me to my feet.

"The mansion might burn down? What happened out there?" Sam asked.

"Tell you on the way out of here. Did you get-"

"The map? Yeah, I got it," Sam said taking out a folded-up piece of paper. He handed it to me and I looked at Sam puzzled. "Just call it a friendly gesture, for saving my ass back in the cell. Oh and I thought you might like this."

Sam held out a blue, leather notebook and put it into my hands. "Sam...how did you-"

"Know? I saw you looking at it before I got knocked in the head. And that's for not abandoning me. You seem like the lone wolf kinda guy, but you stuck with me. Even if it was only for this little chunk of time," Sam finished.

"Sam...I, wow. Thank you. Hey, how about after this is all over, you come back with me to California?" I asked.

"Sounds good, but uh...kid? Do you hear footsteps?" Sam asked.

I perked my ears up and I did hear footsteps. A lot of footsteps. I put the map and the book in my suit pockets, as I walked back to the door. I put my head to the wood and listened to what they were saying.

"I want you to find them and bring them to me. Shoot any part of their body except the chest or the head. I want them alive," Vaughn was saying.

"What are they saying?" Sam asked behind me.

"We got to go, Sam. Do you know any place we can escape from?" I asked.

"I think there was a vineyard under Vaughn office window. We could try that," Sam said.

I heard the footsteps getting even louder and finally stopping at the door. I heard the clicks of handguns being cocked, "We should try that. Like, now."

We both ran towards the office door, both of us trying to keep our footsteps light as not to give away our position. We got through the double doors and shut them right before Vaughn's guards opened the hallway door. I had to slow them down, but I couldn't think of a way-

"Blake, the table. Get it and push it against the door. It won't be much but at least it's something," Sam said as he quickly walked over to the window. I grabbed the table and shoved it against the big wooden doors. Then I heard Sam sigh, "Oh, no."

I turned around and saw Sam's fingers in between his eyes, "Sam, what?"

"We're going to have to jump," he said.

The words stuck in my mind, "Excuse me?"

"I was wrong, there is no way down except to jump. Sorry, kid, guess my mind really is losing it," Sam said as he tried to push the window open. "Crap, it's stuck. We're going to have to shoot then break through the glass. What's the matter with you?"

Sam must have seen the terror in my eyes, "Um…well to get here, I had to fall out of a plane without a parachute, land in a gigantic Christmas tree, then hit my head on a branch as I fell. So, I'm not really too keen on heights right now."

"You're going to have to suck it up this time, kid. It's the only way out-"

"Maybe not," I interrupted. "Maybe I could find another way out. Maybe in the next room."

The door knob twisted and then the door was violently hit. Two more hits and the hinges were coming out of the wall. I turned my attention towards the big wooden door as I saw my chances of jumping out a two story window getting bigger and bigger.

Then I heard a bullet shoot through the window and a loud noise of glass being shattered. I turned and saw Sam had just jumped through the window. _Oh, c'mon, he didn't even give my idea a chance._

The guards had the door almost knocked out of the wall, only a couple more hits…

"BLAKE! C'MON LET'S GO! JUMP!" Sam was yelling from the ground.

I walked quickly to the window and looked out to see Sam waving up at me, "NO WAY MAN! I'LL TAKE MY CHANCES WITH THE GUARDS-"

The suited men broke through the door and were leveling their guns at me. "On second thought…"

I swung my feet over the sill and was falling feet first to the ground. I was waving my arms below me like I had wings or wanted to fly. Bullets could be heard leaving their guns and hitting the empty place where I had just been standing.

I hit the ground and rolled a few times, landing at Sam's feet. "See, now that wasn't so bad, now was it?"

"I think…I think I would have been better off with the guards," I joked as Sam helped me to my feet.

"Are you always a smart-"

"THERE THEY ARE!" one of the guards yelled as he shot of a few bullets at our feet.

"Shit," Sam said as he pushed me towards the front of the mansion. We were both running towards the driveway when an army green truck pulled up to the drive. It was a big truck with a canvas like material covering the back and metal covering the passenger and driver seats.

Niju jumped out of the back of the truck and started gesturing for us to hurry, "Hey! C'mon let's go!"

Sam and I made it to the truck as the guards were coming out of the front door. "Hey who the hell is this guy," Niju asked as he put his hand in front of Sam, stopping him from getting into the truck.

"A friend, I'll explain everything on the way," I said quickly.

Did you get the-" Niju was cut off by a stray bullet hitting the canvas next to his face. "Whoa, that was uncalled for."

"Get in," I said as I pushed Sam and Niju into the back.

"What about you?" Sam asked.

"Go!" I said as I shot one of the guards in the chest. The truck started to move as I rattled off a few more bullets and I jumped into the canvased back, as the guards bullets tore through the trucks cover.

"That was close," Niju said. Sam and I both glared at him. "What?"

"You aren't the one who risked his life for a stupid piece of paper," I said.

"No, because I know how much you like to do that," Niju said sarcastically.

"This your friend that you had to get the map for?" Sam asked.

"Sam, Niju. Niju, Sam," I said.

"Thanks for getting us out of there," Sam said offering his hand.

"The pleasure was all mine," Niju shook Sam's hand.

"Hey, Niju…you never told me you were so good with knives," I said remembering the start of our escape.

"What are you talking about? I never used a knife in my life, I prefer guns and fangs," Niju said smiling. "But your signal was amazing. You always were an extravagant lone wolf."

"My signal?" I asked.

"Yeah, the explosion that blew up the wall. I was just sitting around a fire me and the boys built and then I heard a loud rumbling, I look up and what do you know, a huge chunk of the wall was blow out of the mansion. Very nice touch if I do say so myself."

"But, I…um, thanks. You know me, always have to go out strong," I said rubbing the back of my neck.

Sam shot me a confused look, I could almost hear him asking _Was that you?_ I shook my head in response and he mouthed the words **"Then who?". **I mouthed back **"I don't know."**

"Only a little ways to go, then we'll stop and build a fire. On the way, you can tell me about what happened in there.

**{{_Memories_}}**

"So you have the map?" Niju asked as he sat on a log near the fire.

Sam and I did the same, our clothes reflected the shadows from the fire light. Niju gave me my old clothes that he had been saving for when I got back. A gray, long sleeved Henley shirt that I pushed up to my elbows and a pair of blue jeans. He also surprised me with a shoulder holster for my gun and a small, brown leather pouch that fit the blue book I stole form Vaughn perfectly.

I handed him the map and he snatched it out of my hands. Sam and I took a look at it on the ride over, but it was just a bunch of symbols, letters, and lines that made no sense at all.

"This is perfect! Absolutely amazing! Good job, you two. You guys deserve a treat for being such good dogs," Niju said sarcastically. "You know we make such a good team. You two are the workers and I am the good looking manager."

"I wouldn't say good looking," I whispered to Sam who softly chuckled.

"What?"

"Nothing," I said. "So...do you know what all that stuff means?"

"Yes, I do. It is the path to the diamonds and it leads directly to them. But-" Niju said obviously wanting me to jump in.

"But?"

"But we need your help to find out where the general location is. We know it is somewhere in upper North America, Northern Canada, Alaska area. We don't know and well…you are the best in that category," Niju said.

"Of course," I said as I got up from my seat.

"Oh, c'mon Blake. You know just as well as I do that once we get the treasure that we are rolling in cash! Ever wanted to go to the beach? Buy an island! You always said you wanted to go to Australia," Niju pleaded.

I sighed, "Fine. But Sam stays, I need his help."

"Done and done, I like him anyways. When I'm not there to spring you out of trouble, he'll do it for me. Makes my job a lot easier," he said.

"Give me the map, you guys get some sleep. I have work to do."

**{{_Memories_}}**

Morning broke through the cloudy sky, sending beams of light to my closed eyes. I worked on the map for only a little bit, then I copied it down into my notebook. I flipped through the pages and I think I found a clue to where the diamonds are. I marked up the map in the blue book, but was too tired to copy the markings onto the real map.

I shoved Niju and Sam awake and they looked at me with puzzled eyes. "I found the general location," I said.

Niju's eyes shot open and he stood up and grabbed my shoulders. "Where?"

"Alaska."

**{{_Memories_}}**

Niju rented a plane and we were heading over to a mountainous region of Alaska. He said if there was one place that a cave of diamonds was to be hiding, it was in the mountains. But I told him that Alaska was filled with mountains.

"I have a good feeling about this place," was all he said.

I sat away from Niju and some of the humans he brought along as helpers. I opened up the blue notebook and started to flip through it, trying to find the page that said "Tama". But it was nowhere to be found, and I could have sworn I saw it right before I got knocked out. But other things in the book caught my eye. Page nine said something about the "seven white wolves shall open the gate", whatever that means. And something else about the mutt leading the way.

_This is so confusing...what does all this mean? _I asked myself.

But I head footsteps coming my way, I had to put the book away. I looked up, it was Sam.

"Hey, kid," he said. "What are you doing back here?"

"Going through the book, I think there is some information about the diamonds in there," I said.

"Well, why don't you tell Niju?" Sam asked. I turned my head away from him. "You don't trust him?"

"It's not that. It's just...you saw the look in his eyes when I said that I found the general location. They looked..."

"Hungry? Greedy?-"

"Lustful," I finished. "It's probably nothing but..."

"Hey, I'm not going to judge. Just came back here to tell you to buckle up, we're almost there," he started to walk away. "Oh, and Blake...go with what your heat says."

"Thanks Dr. Phil," I called after him. He answered with an "Uh-huh."

**{{_Memories_}}**

Two months we spent searching the mountainous regions in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. And we found nothing. Niju kept insisting that we keep going, and that we would find them eventually. But it was winter now and Niju said maybe we should look more towards the coast.

"There are mountains there, too," Niju said when I asked him why.

"But, Niju. We have been looking for almost two months! Don't you think we would have at least stumbled onto a clue?" I had asked.

"Patience, I really feel close to the diamonds. Don't you?" would always be his response.

Niju gave Sam and I brown shearling coats, each had a nifty holster for a single pistol. I placed my book in one of the pockets in the coat.

Everything outside was clothed in white, the trees, the shrubs, the water, everything had a layer of ice or snow. The nights were so cold, I was just glad that I was a wolf and had enough fur to keep myself warm. And the facts that we had the trucks canvas to protect us from some of the cold air. But tonight, something was different. And not just because Sam was in another truck, that was odd. I couldn't go to sleep, not that that was odd or anything, but I kept my eyes shut anyways. Then I heard something hit the ground with a loud crash.

I picked up my head and looked over, Niju's bag had fallen to the ground and some of the contents had fallen out and were being thrown around the rolling truck. I changed into human form and walked over to the bag. I bent down and started to pick up the contents when something caught my eye. There was a little flash of something glinting in the light that passed through some holes in the canvas.

I stopped picking up the contents and moved over to the duffle bag. I opened the bag and found a little pin just like the one over the office of...

"Vaughn. Is Niju...no he cant be." I kept going through the bag and found a pistol just like the one the two men on the plane used and a couple grenades. At the bottom of the bag was a red arm band with a white circle that surrounded a black symbol, just like the one over Vaughn's door and his pin. I think I saw the symbol in the book as well, but...why did he send me into the mansion? If he knew Vaughn, then why not just ask nicely for the map? Maybe he wanted me dead.

_Oh, c'mon, Blake. Do you here yourself? Niju is an idiot most of the time, but he is not a traitor. Although...all of this stuff...it does sound a little. Odd._

"Are you working for them, Niju?" I asked the air.

That's when I felt the cool barrel of a gun being shoved up against my head.

*******Well, what did you think? A lot of secrets. **

**Thank you guys for reviewing, more reviews=chapters getting written faster, haha. And I just wanted to say one thing(I'm not calling the reviewer out, I would actually like to thank him/her for brining it up) (and I LOVE FISHING sooo much, a great pass time.) : it's not that I think Christians are ignorant (actually they are the most knowledgeable people probably on this earth, just my opinion) it's just, if multiple people tell me something that I have done that they consider "wrong" it gets to a point that I have to post on my profile what the big picture is so I don't have to keep explaining myself every time. The only reason I include (I'll use my other Balto fanfic, because that is a perfect example) cheating in that fanfic is to use that as a way to deepen the plot. I'm not endorsing cheating, nor will I ever, it's what comes out of the cheating that I am leaning towards. At least give me time to finish the story before you go all "That's a sinful story, you can't write that if you are Christian". And also, if you do say that, doesn't God say that He is the only one who will judge? Think about that the next time you want to tell me that my stories are sinful.**

**Alright, I'm done with that subject, if you want to talk to me about what I said (if you disagree/agree) or just have a rational discussion (no flamers please) then PM me about it.**

**Again, thanks you guys for reviewing, hopefully you liked this chapter! See you on the next update!**


	4. Only the Beginning

**Chapter IV: Only the Beginning**

I let my hand slip down to my waist, where my gun was placed. Only hoping I could get to it in time to kill the assassin who stood behind me.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a familiar voice said.

"Niju, what the-"

"Shut up," Niju cut me off. "Put your hands on the back of your head. NOW!"

I did as I was told, never trying to look back and see the face of my traitorous friend. This whole time I have been helping the enemy, and I hadn't even figured it out until it was too late. My mind was racing as I was trying to find a way to get far from Niju and his men, but there was no way. My thoughts were interrupted as I felt my pistol slide out of its holster. I finally glanced back and saw Niju toss it out the back of the truck.

I looked down at the bag and saw the gun and the grenades, but it wouldn't do any good. If I let the gun go off, I might miss and be killed. If I threw the grenade, I would be killed. If I didn't do a thing, most likely I would be killed. Every possible solution would lead to my death.

Niju saw me looking back at him and he leveled the gun at my head. "Turn around," he said.

"Why, Niju?" I asked.

"Why? Why?! For the money you idiot! You have always dragged me down, always wanting something in return. But not this time. This time it is all mine," he started a low chuckle. "Besides, you know me, Blake. Always on the winning side. Actually, I'm surprised it has taken you this long to figure it out."

"You and I both," I sighed.

"But you always were the smart type. Not a normal wolf, n...you're a very special wolf. And that's why we had to kill that white wolf you befriended. A terrible situation I was in, but businesses had to be the first priority," Niju said.

"What?"

"Oh, she didn't tell you. White wolves are quite rare, not many are born. But when they are, they are given certain...qualities, if you will. Yours, well...we won't get into that quite yet. But you were so close to discovering it, so we had to pull the plug."

Anger surged through me, filling me with a concoction of raw rage and pure madness. I felt my hands bundle up into balls as the veins in my arms grew. I felt my eyes glow with the golden yellow of a wolves, and a growl slip through my mouth. "You..." I started to say as sadness started to fill the empty spaces that the anger had missed. I got up and turned to wards Niju with lightning fast speed. "You bastard-"

A gun shot rose to meet my ear drums. I felt something lodge into my stomach, as an unseen force pushed me back a few steps. Something sapped at my energy, sending me to the ground. I let out a groan as I hit the trucks floor, with blood seeping to the floor. I put my hand to my stomach, and when I brought it back up, it was covered in blood.

I looked at Niju with bewilderment as the pain started to flow through my tired body. He had a look of satisfaction and shock, he probably didn't even realize he pulled the trigger. A small smile started to cross his lips, "Sorry about that, Blake. Always was fast on the trigger, eh?"

I had fallen right next to the bag and I knew what I had to do. I put my hand in the bag and I could hear Niju cock the pistol back for another shot. I wanted to go for the gun, but I knew that I wasn't in the condition to shoot. I went for the grenade instead.

Niju let off a warning shot right next to my head, "You won't win in a gun fight."

"Who said...anything about a gun fight?" I asked as I brought the grenade out of the bag. Niju's face was now drowned in terror, his gun dropping lower and lower. "You shoot me, we both die. Your choice, mate, only hope you make a good one."

He put the gun down a bit and I knew now was the time to act. I opened the panel that separated the back to the driver and passenger seats. As I ripped the pin out of the grenade, Niju popped off a shot that almost nailed my arm. He never was good with those quick draws. I gave him one last smile before I threw the grenade into the front seats of the truck. I heard a scream and the truck started to swerve.

Niju leveled his gun at my head, his face twisted in anger. But he lowered it and said, "Big mistake." He jumped back into the darkness as I heard something make a loud thunk. I looked out and saw Niju on top of a military jeep. He saw me and waved, a bright evil smile on his face. "See you later, Ryder."

I desperately wanted to jump onto the jeep and escape my ultimate death, but it was too late. The grenade went off and the front of the truck rose into the air. The panel that separated us blew out and let shrapnel fill the back. Thank God for the shearling coat, it shielded me from some of the blast, but some of it lodged itself into my sides and back.

The front part of the truck was still in the air and when it came down, I felt the truck leave the ground completely. I know this because it came to a crashing hold on its side. I was thrown into the roof and fell down, in terrible pain. I laid on my side for a few moments, my consciousness slowly slipping away. But that was only a part of the terror. I heard cracking and crunching under the truck and I could feel it slowly dropping lower.

"No, no, no, no, no...!" I yelled as the cliff that we had been thrown on slowly crumbled away. The military vehicle was falling, though I never made it. I hit my head on one of the metal bars that kept the canvas down and I was out in a flash.

But this was only the beginning.

*******So, good? bad? I know it was short, but at least you got another chapter. You guys know what organization I'm talking about? Actually, it was luck that I even thought of it (and help from kodiwolf321, haha), and the time period was perfect! **

**Thanks for the reviews and I am soooooooo sorry for my spelling mistakes! Normally, I'm working off of my dads computer and it doesn't spell check for me, but I finally got my own laptop so hopefully from here on out there shouldn't be as many spelling mistakes. And MajorBalto: Oh, okay, I gotcha. Yeah I totally agree! At least I don't have any people like that in my life. And someone ran over my fishing rod...I was loading the car, put it down and it fell to the ground. A pickup ran it over and didn't even stop, they probably sped up even more. It's amazing how fast people can drive when they're in trouble/did something bad, but they can't drive for their lives in rain!**


	5. Going Berserk

**Chapter V: Going Berserk**

_Blake...Blake...C'mon Blake...Get up…I know you can do it…They are coming, you must let them take you…Where they take you, you shall find my son…A half and a half equals a whole…The heart of a hero…_

I jolted awake, my sides burning as I brought my body to sit up. The blood was not rushing out of my stomach as much as before the truck, but it was slowly coming back due to the truck exploding. My lungs ached to take in the air that surrounded me. It smelled like gasoline and pine. My throat and mouth were dry as the saliva caught in my throat. My eyes burned with tiredness and distrust, each towards one thing- the world. Both my legs and arms were sore, but at least I could still get around.

I got up unsteadily and used a spruce tree next to me to balance. I tried to absorb all that has happened today…though I never could. But what she said, Aniu, "A half and a half equals a whole" and "heart of a hero"…

"Ani-Aniu…what does that mean?" I asked as I gripped at my sides. _Could her son be the thing she was talking about…yeah, yeah that makes sense. Aniu's mate was a Husky, not a wolf. But what does a "heart of a hero" stand for? And why is he so important?_

All of these questions would have to wait because I heard dogs barking in the distance, slowly getting closer and closer. Their barking hurt my ears, all of them doing it at once. It sounded like only six or seven dogs, and a…human. Yeah, I could hear a human calling to the dogs to stop.

They were so close I could almost smell them, and they were definitely not wolves. They smelled…domestic. Even though most people couldn't probably distinguish the difference, animals could always tell when another animal is domestic or wild. Add that and the fact that the dogs were pulling a sled just about summed up my suspicion.

There were two dogs that lined up one after another, kind of looked like some kids back in California. They would pair up with another kid and walk in a line, called it the "buddy system" as stupid as that sounds. They were connected to each other with some sort of leather or rope, which originated from a wooden sled. Three of the dogs looked to be purebred huskies, one a rusty red color and the other two a bland gray. The other three dogs looked to be a chow mix, each had a brown coat. The sled was being driven by a dark skinned man with squinting eyes. He also wore a shearling coat but had on brown pants and boots with a rounded hat.

There was someone else in the sled, a man wearing the same thing the musher was wearing but he had a pistol cocked and ready to fire. He was a white man with a bushy mustache and a mean look in his eyes.

"Would you put that gun away, Miller," the musher said. His voice was low and soothing, no wonder the dogs liked him so much.

"No can do Mr. Simpson," the sled rider, who I guess was named Miller, said. "You saw that explosion. Who knows what caused it, maybe the people are still crawling around out here."

"You saw the explosion, that had to be caused by some heavy machinery…and I don't think a pistol would be much use against people who can cause that much destruction," Simpson said.

Miller got out of the sled as it came to a stop and dismissed what Simpson was saying with a wave of his hand, "Whatever. Let's just find that guy that went flying through the air, even though he's probably dead from a fall like that. No man can survive a fall like that.

_Maybe a wolf can, _Blake joked to himself despite all the pain he was feeling.

One of the dogs started barking and trying to get away from the reins. It was a female gray husky in the middle row. She seemed to be barking in my direction.

"Whoa, girl. What's gotten into you?" Miller asked.

"Maybe she found that man," Simpson mumbled as he walked to the husky and untied her. The husky ran towards me as I just managed to get to another tree. The musher followed her and examined the ground where I had been standing. "Miller! Might want to unlatch the rest of the dogs. There's blood, and lots of it."

I heard a series of clinking and then paws could be heard running in every direction. I heard two sets of paws getting closer and closer.

"Why are we even looking for this guy? He's dead, you heard Miller," a gentle male voice spoke. "We should be getting back to our jobs."

"C'mon Kodi, it's a human life at stake! Maybe he isn't dead, maybe he survived. You know, you're father would-"

"Be looking out here?" Kodi finished the female huskies sentence. "I know my dad is the town hero and everything. I'm sick and tired of everyone trying to compare me to him."

"Kodi, that's not what I meant. I meant- Wait…do you smell that?" the female asked.

"Yeah…smells like…a wolf and blood. We have got to be close!" Kodi said.

"He must be this way!" the female asked as she and Kodi ran past me without even looking to the side.

"Guess you guys would suck at hide and seek," I said weakly. Kodi and the girl stopped running and turned around to face me with shocked looks. "It's alright, I won't hold it against you. Normally, I would tell you to avoid me…but given the circumstances, I think I need a little company."

"Oh my God, Kodi…that's the man! I told you he was- Kodi?" the girl asked as Kodi's expression did not change.

"You're not human…are you?" Kodi asked.

"Very good observation, I'd give you a pat on the back but I'm kinda bleeding out here," I said.

"How are you-"

"In a human form while a wolf? Why don't I explain that on the way to your town. Need to get this thing checked out," I commented as I touched my stomach. Even the slightest poke from my finger sent my innards in a fiery rage. I yelped in pain and fell to the ground holding my gut.

Dusty and Kodi started to bark as my eye lids were becoming heavier and heavier. As they started to shut, my vision seemed to be glowing by a supernatural light. And in the distance I could see a man come rushing towards me with two other dogs at his side.

**{{_}}**

My eyes opened to a wide expanse of white and darkness. The ground was covered with snow up to my heels and it could be seen for miles in every direction. It seemed to never end in every direction, no mountains, no trees, no nothing, except for snow and myself. The snow was falling from the sky with a light gracefulness about it. Like it was keeping a tempo, in perfect rhythm with the non-changing world. The sky was black, with stars shining through the snow flecks. A bright full moon was also in the sky, shining down on me, and only me.

But something caught my eye. Something in the distance…no, someone. She was wearing a red dress and red shoes with eyes as green as emeralds and hair as luscious as a lions mane. She walked with light, professional step, keeping a straight line to her target. She seemed to becoming in my direction, but I could see that she was going a little bit to the left.

"Mae! Mae over here!" I yelled, trying to get her attention.

But nothing was working, I even tried flailing my arms, but she still didn't acknowledge my existence. It's not like I'm the only one out here or thing. Another thought occurred to me though. Looking at her stride, it looked like she was walking towards someone but there was no one here except for us.

_Berserk… _the words dreamily echoed in my head. And just like magic a man popped up out of nowhere. But no ordinary man. A man with bear, wolf, moose, and any animal of Alaska's pelts worn on his back like robes on a Roman emperor. His hair was long and black, like one of those Norse warriors which matched his tanned skin. His face was wrinkly and looked to be old, though the rest of him looked like one of those bodybuilders. He had a shield and with bear skin and a rounded metal point at the center. The man also carried a sword that gleamed in the moonlight that now bathed him.

Something was wrong. When the man saw Mae he started to walk towards her with a quickness to his step, like an assassin pursuing his target. Her expression didn't change nor did her walk, but the light around them did. It seemed to glow with an evil darkness. My necklace seemed to catch on fire, it burned my chest with some mystical power. It never has done something like this before. I looked down at the wolf's tooth and was shocked to see it glow red.

Something else caught my attention. The snow stopped falling, it was as quiet and calm except for the crunching of Mae and the man's feet on the snow. Even that stopped. I stared at the two standing together just looking at each other not letting any of their gazes falter. That's when the man grabbed the handle of his sword.

_Oh, no… _I thought as I saw him take it off of his moose skin belt. He raised it in the air, pointing the tip towards Mae's heart.

"Mae! Mae! Move, Mae!" I yelled but it was no use.

The man brought back the blade and then drove it into Mae's chest. She looked over at me like nothing had even happened. I heard her breathing get more labored as she smiled towards me. The man brought the blade out of Mae's chest and watched her fall with an amusement in his eyes.

Anger surged through me as I charged towards the pelt covered man who had just killed Mae. They only seemed to get farther away as I ran towards them. Like the world I was in didn't want me to get close to Mae and the mystery man.

But it wouldn't matter if I reached them or not. The man threw his sword back into his belt and looked towards me. He smiled as he seemed to shrink to a smaller size. His skin got darker and darker before it changed to pitch black. His eyes grotesquely changed positions from the front of his face to the side of his head. The man's mouth and nose merged into one forming a black bird's beak. His toes cracked as two of them went to the back of his foot looking exactly like a bird's. His arms and body grew dark black feathers, and his black hair seemed to shrink and attach to his neck.

I was realizing that he was changing into a…raven. A black raven that now stood where the man had been standing. It almost seemed to smile at me as it squawked and flew away.

"What the f-" I said as I felt something go through my stomach. I looked down and saw a sword sticking out of my gut, but there was no blood. It was clean even though it had just passed through me. But the pain was there, it was paralyzing. I could barely move anything let alone look behind me to see who had done it.

I felt a foot go to my back then I was on my face on the ground. I looked up and saw the same man who had stabbed Mae. _Wait…this guy has brown hair. So there are more of them…great._

The man looked almost exactly like the other man except for the brown hair and the bird parts. He put his blade back in his belt and looked down on me with a sort of pity in his eyes.

He said, "Syv hvite ulver skal åpne porten til den hellige øya. Bare én ulv vil seire, han er den utvalgte. Han må plassere krystaller på understellet."

But it was like I could almost understand what the brute was saying: "_Seven white wolves shall open the gate to the sacred island. Only one wolf will prevail, he is the chosen one. He must place the crystals onto the pedestal."_

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Den Albet søk etter krystaller og vil stoppe på noe for å få dem. Meg og mitt folk er eiere av de diamantene og vil bli svært fornøyd når de er tilbake i sin rettmessige plass. Du holder tasten, hvite," the man said.

"_The Albet search for the crystals and will stop at nothing to get them. Me and my people are the owners of those diamonds and will be greatly pleased once they are back in their rightful place. You hold the key, white one."_

_Albet. That name was in the book that I got from Vaughn, but what does it all mean? What key? _I asked myself.

"What key? What wolves? What are you?" I questioned.

"Good by-e," the man said in broken English.

He brought his foot down on my face and I woke up in a bed surrounded by other beds, some drawers and cream walls. I was covered in sweat; the bed I was laying on was soaked with liquid. My shirt was off and so were my jeans, all I had on was my underwear. I brought my hands to my stomach and felt thread-like material surrounding the place I had been shot. _What the…?_

I looked down and there was a stitch over my wound. My blood had been wiped away and for the first time today I felt clean. I soon remembered the dogs and how they found me in the woods. They must have dragged me to the sled and brought me to their town.

_This must be the hospital. _I concluded.

Just as I thought that, a nurse walked in carrying a tray of needles and a vile. I brought the sheets closer to my body as she walked towards me. She stopped seeing my reaction, "Oh, don't worry, this isn't for you. How are you by the way? Nasty gunshot wound, I'll say. Just looking at it hurt."

"I'm fine…um, how long have I been out?" I asked the dark haired nurse.

"Oh, not long. Two days, which is surprisingly good considering the extent of your wounds. May I ask…did what the musher say really happened? He said you feel from a cliff…is this true?" she asked.

"Yeah…it's true. Where are my clothes? I have something important in my jacket," I asked.

"Your clothes? Oh, they're long gone," the nurse said. My heart sunk realizing I was now in the dark about the whole diamond business. "But we did keep your book. I put it in your new clothes."

She pointed to a hanger that was hanging on a window with a jacket and a gray long sleeved shirt. I could faintly see jeans under the jacket. "Um, thank you. You're too kind."

"Why thank you."

I swung my feet over the bed and rested for a few seconds trying to catch my breath from that little effort. I felt a cool hand rest on my shoulder and then try to push me back down. I couldn't even resist that let alone the nurse putting her other hand on my chest to get me to lay back on the bed.

"Sir, please. You can't get up and walk around in that condition! No human is _that _strong. Look, I'm going out to get you some food, some dog has been eating ours and we think he has contaminated the food supply. But promise me, you won't get out of this bed," the nurse said.

"I promise on my human flesh that I will not leave this bed," I said.

"Um…okay. A simple 'I promise' would have sufficed," the nurse said as she left the room.

I waited till I heard the front door close shut with the ring of a bell before I swung my feet out over the side of the bed again. When I hit the ground, the whole room seemed to be in a fuzzy haze. But I had to get dressed and find Sam and the diamonds before Niju. Hopefully Vaughn was still in Russia with all of his goons as well. I slipped on my jeans and my shirt but kept my jack on the hanger.

I put my hand in the pocket and found my blue book. I flipped through the pages before I found the one I was looking for. It was labeled "Albet", so I folded the top right corner and tucked it back into the jacket as I threw that on over the shirt.

As quickly as I could, I limped towards the door that led to the lobby. I cracked open the wooden door and peered out. Only one nurse was outside over a desk working on something. At least that something kept her back turned towards me. I cautiously walked out into the open lobby, as I saw one old man staring at me. I put one finger to my lips in a "Be quiet" gesture and he did the same with a crazed smile.

_Um…okay._

I limped towards the door as I heard something fall onto the ground with a loud breaking sound.

"Ah, damnit! Not again! Dr. Bing is going to kill me!...Uh, sir? Can I help you with something?" I heard the nurse ask.

I turned and saw her looking at me with quizzical eyes. "Uh, no. Just leaving. I was visiting a friend, very ill…he actually just got shot. Very bad, he even fell off a cliff," I said.

"Oh, you know the man?" she asked.

"Yes, of course, we go way back. You could even say we are the same person," I said.

"You know, now that you say that…you do look a lot like him," the nurse said.

"I get that a lot, I mean you wouldn't know how much I have heard that."

"Sir, are you akright?" she said pointing to my stomach.

I had been subconsciously clutching it, "Oh, yeah. Bad salmon. Um, but he isn't alright," I said pointing to my empty room. "He has been complaining of pains."

"Oh, then I'll go ahead and check on him."

The nurse went for the room and opened the door, "Sir, your friend said…sir? Where are you? I thought…"

I was already hobbling out the door and half running, half limping towards the alley across from the clinic.

"Damnit! Not again!" I could hear the nurse yell.

Now I was limping through the maze of backyards and alleyways when I came upon an open space. It stretched far across the coast, probably a beach. There was an ice layer that ran as far as the eye could see.

_Now I just have to find a place to…hello, what have we here? _I thought, seeing a big fishing boat stranded on the snowy beach. _Perfect place to hide out while I build my strength._

**{{_}}**

I climbed into the empty fishing vessel using a conveniently places wooden board. The captain quarters looked like the best place to sleep but it was too open, I had to find a new place to rest.

_The bottom of the boat would probably be my best bet._

I changed into my wolf form and crawled into one of the holes on the deck of the boat to get to the basement. I found a small cubby space, that was probably used to store materials like food and water, and curled up. My thoughts were racing, my side was burning, my eyes ached for sleep. I thought of my parents and my mentor. I thought of Niju and Sam. But the one thing that lulled me to sleep was the soothing voice of Mae.

**{{_}}**

"Dad, you should have been there! it was so cool! A wolf could change into a human!" I heard a familiar voice say.

My eyes shot open and I heard footsteps above me, several.

"Really, Kodi? Now I just think that is ridiculous," I heard a stern voice.

_Kodi...that was that red husky that saved my life._

"Oh, c'mon Balto, don't be mean. Let him tell the story," a female voice said. It wasn't Dusty's, that I was sure of.

"Fine, tell the story," the dog who I think was Balto said.

"Alright. So there we were running our normal mail run, when we heard a loud boom in the distance. It actually turned out a truck had exploded and that sent the wolf off of the cliff-"

"He fell off a cliff?! Oh, my..." the female voice said again.

"Yeah, we all thought he was dead but when we got there we found him in a pool of blood. We rescued him and brought him here," Kodi finished.

"Wow...what food is the musher feeding you again?" Balto asked.

I heard a whack and Balto saw 'Ow'. "Now, c'mon Balto-"

I stopped listening to what she said after that because I was slipping through a bog hole in the side of the boat. I cautiously climbed the board again and look out over the side onto the chatting dogs. There were two red huskies and one...wolf? No, I smelled the air and there was a scent of domestic on him. must be a half breed. But something else caught my attention. A goose was washing the deck with a mop.

_What the...wow, I guess I must have hit my head on a rock or something._

"Jenna, would you listen to him? Sounds like a fairy tale," Balto, the half breed, said.

"Oh, c'mon. Did you get the wolf's name at least?" Jenna, the female red husky, asked.

"Well, um no...But I think it was-"

"Blake Ryder, though I have been called many other names," I said walking up behind the chatting dogs.

Everyone stopped talking and looked at me with amazement and shock. Though Balto's reaction was to growl and put himself between me and his family. His eyes...something in his eyes looked familiar. Even his stance looked familiar. I have only seen that gait in one other dog.

"Aniu..." I said out loud.

"How do you know my mother?" Balto asked.

******So, how'd you like it?**

**A little history in this paragraph so stay with me...The two men in pelts with shield and swords are actually modeled after real people. They were called the Berserkers (Old Norse), because they would go into a mad rage in battle. (Yes, that is where we get the word 'berserk' from.) They would work themselves up before a battle so they would become unstoppable fighting machines. Here is an excerpt from that sums it up quite nicely:**

**"Of the Viking warriors, the most fierce and powerful were the berserkers. Before battle they would get into a frenzy that allowed them to ignore pain and throw thoughts of survival and safety out the window. They also dressed themselves in bear or wolf skins to make use of the fear common people had for wild animals. They would whip themselves into the battle frenzy by biting their shields and howling like animals. They were ferocious fighters and seemingly unstoppable while this madness lasted. Many tales say the berserker was actually magically immune to weapons. This concept of immunity may have evolved from the berserker's rage, during which the berserk might receive wounds, but due to his state of frenzy take no note of them until the madness passed from him. A warrior who continued fighting while bearing mortal wounds would surely have been a terrifying opponent. The berserker is closely associated in many respects with the god Odin. Legends say that Odin could shape-shift into the form of a bird, fish, or wild animal. The berserker, too, was often said to change into bestial form, or at least to assume the ferocious qualities of the wolf or bear."**

**And the animal transformation thing is also in the myth. They are said that they can change from any animal (Bear, wolf, etc.) at will. If they wanted to trample their enemies, bear. If they wanted to be stealthy and silent killers or just blood thirsty unstoppable brutes, wolf. I added the raven because I thought it was a cool idea and because I can, haha.**

**The Albet is an entirely different matter, that I won't get into now. I'll let a character of mine in the coming chapters to describe more what they are.**

**Well, that's all I got. I went over the spelling to try and make it nice and clean. See you guys on the next update.**


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